Being sick for most of November’s been a royal pain, keeping me from doing everything that was on my list for the month. My stack of blog drafts’ as thick as ever; house doors still squeak in dire need of some WD-40; emails sit unanswered in my Gmail inbox, and I couldn’t tackle Movember with the gusto I would were I at 100%.
It wasn’t for lack of ‘stache—my facial hair’s grown in nicely (much to my wife’s chagrin), and I’ve taken photos along the way to prove it. But it’s fitting that one of Movember’s foci are on mental health because I started feeling a real sense of burnout as I started closing 2015 off?
Someone approached me months back with an interesting request — to join in a unique collaboration between a childhood staple that’s been around since many of our grandparents were in diapers and a now-global movement to bring some much-needed awareness to specific issues involving men’s health, all done in ways that stand out and start the right conversations on topics that frankly aren’t talked about enough.
This November, I’m trying my hand at Movember once more, joining Team Thomas (myself, Corey Shaw, Paul Van Huss, Mike Reynolds, Shaun Worrell, and Trevor Arsenault) in their fundraising efforts to help in the fight against ailments like prostate and testicular cancer! It’s a team made up of Dad Bloggers from across the nation, backed by Thomas & Friends, celebrating their 70th anniversary of delighting children with tales of anthropomorphic vehicles getting into all sorts of mischief!
It’s a little mind-blowing seeing my son enjoy the same show I did at his age, asking to see more “choo-choo” on the odd occasion when we let him watch some Netflix. And they’ve really upgraded the graphics, too — imagine my surprise when I saw Thomas the Tank Engine with fully animated features instead of the rolling eyes and fixed facial expressions I knew from the ’80s! Some things change, but boys and their toys don’t seem to be one of them!
Pretty sure I had this idea before, but couldn’t make it stick. Putting together a quick synopsis of the week to show what I’d been up to without needing a full post for every little thing.
But the last time I did it? I overthought everything, getting too lost in the details to make it effective.
This time it’ll be quick, dirty, and good for people who just want the highlights of what your favourite blogger’s favourite blogger* is up to!
So let’s go!!!
Sunday, September 27th
Started the week by wrapping up our church retreat at Camp Kwasind in Utterson, ON, a few hours north of Toronto. Little Man had a killer time, even going as far as finding comfort in the arms of other parents.
